Written By HerbFellow
In the western culture religion is sober and a contains a fear of spiritual drunkenness. There seems to almost be a fear of losing control in worship and dedication. Even the Pentecostals are accused of being on a more emotional or soulful realm instead of a spiritual realm. True expression of worship is stifled by strict codes of behavior. This is not true in India and the Hindu. Excuses need not be made for appearance or the use of cannabis for the religious or in festivals. Western culture has a narrow perspective of god, while the Hindu worships god in many forms.
There are believed to be 330 million gods or faces of god in Hinduism. This is not that different from Christianity, for in Christianity God is all holy, the rose of Sharon, the Prince of Peace, the great creator, the great I Am, the everlasting Lord, Emmanuel, Jesus and on and on. In times of old in India it was believed that there were 330 living beings, thus the idea of 330 million deities or gods. Lord Shiva is who we will be exploring in this article. Shiva literally means “the supreme one.”
Shiva is the lord of herbs. He is believed to be in a constant high and the lord of all “consciousness-changing” drugs. From this short explanation or description of Shiva, you can see the lure to the hippies of the sixties and their European trail that usually ended in southern India. Even today many will go to India for a spiritual holiday or a time of inner cleansing and exploration.
Shiva is the wild one or the trickster of the godhead. He truly is the original hippie. His eyes were always red and he continued his roaming the countryside even after his marriage to Parvati. Just as wives of the 21st century cook a feast to lure their husband out of the woods on holidays, Parvati decided to brew her husband a drink to keep him home. She didn’t have a still or brew her own ale, but created a drink using the buds of the female cannabis plant. This drink made him look at home with a different perspective. Now there was no place like home and no woman more beautiful than his wife. So ladies, if you want to keep your man home, break out the holy herb cannabis!
The most visible dedication to Shiva is seen in the Saivite sadhus. These sadhus use cannabis to have a more philosophical perspective of life and the world. It is also used as an aid in meditation. These devotees are easily identified as they are covered in ashes, have long matted hair and smoke large quantities of cannabis. Like their Lord Shiva, they exemplify the dirty hippie.
The poet Manikkavacar of the ninth century proclaimed, “We’re not subject to anyone. We don’t fear anything. We’ve joined His devotees. We’ll dive (into the sea of bliss) again and again and cavort there with His devotees.” The cannabis users today reflect this attitude of freedom. Even during this time of prohibition, cannabis is used worldwide.
Bhang is a preparation from the leaves and flowers (buds) of the female cannabis plant and is consumed either as a beverage or smoked. This is traditionally prepared during festivals associated with Lord Shiva such as Holi in March and Vaisakhi in April. Consuming bhang during Holi is a standard practice. Bhang removes inhibitions during this festival which imposes no restrictions.
Bhang has been used in India since around 1000 BC and is described in ancient text as a beneficial herb that “releases anxiety”, thus a freedom in worship and devotion.
The pipes used to smoke bhang are called chillums and are made of fired clay and often decorated with a cobra. Smoking the chillum is more of a social undertaking instead of a private one. The chillum may be stroked and even talked to during the process as the sadhus and devotes share their stories and parables of old. It is lit with two matches, one for Shiva and one for Shakti. The sadhu may growl like a wild animal and once the fire ignites the herb, it is like lightning from Shiva’s third eye. As Kali reduces the world to ashes for the enjoyment of Shiva, so is the flame turning the herb to ashes. Before the first drag upon the chillum, the sadhu shouts an invocation much like a toast in our culture.
The chillum moves clockwise around the group of participants where each lifts the pipe to their forehead (third eye) while giving their toast and then takes a long steady toke. Coughing is considered a bad omen and reveals a bad conscience or disharmony within the person. It is said that one or two long drags upon the chillum are enough for you to enter a spiritual realm. The breath released becomes the very breath of creation for now the sadhu is Shiva, god in human form. It is a magical time as devotes lay offerings at the feet of Shiva, now in human form.
Today, smoking cannabis is enjoyed best with friends and circulates among them much like the sadhu. Inhibitions are lost and truth and fellowship flow freely. In closing, here is a recipe for bhang from www.holifestival.org that is greatly enjoyed in my home during harvest time.
Recipe for Flavoured Bhang drink
Ingredients
2 cups water
1 ounce marijuana (fresh leaves and flowers of a female plant preferred)
4 cups warm milk
2 tablespoons blanched and chopped almonds
1/8 teaspoon garam masala (a mixture of cloves, cinnamon, and cardamon)
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/2 to 1 teaspoon rosewater
1 cup sugar
Method
Bring the water to a rapid boil and pour into a clean teapot. Remove any seeds or twigs from the marijuana, add it to the teapot and cover. Let this brew for about 7 minutes.
Now strain the water and marijuana through a piece of muslin cloth, collect the water and save.
Take the leaves and flowers and squeeze between your hands to extract any liquid that remains. Add this to the water.
Place the leaves and flowers in a mortar and add 2 teaspoons warm milk. Slowly but firmly grind the milk and leaves together. Gather up the marijuana and squeeze out as much milk as you can. Repeat this process until you have used about 1/2 cup of milk (about 4 to 5 times). Collect all the milk that has been extracted and place in a bowl. By this time the marijuana will have turned into a pulpy mass.
Add the chopped almonds and some more warm milk. Grind this in the mortar until a fine paste is formed. Squeeze this paste and collect the extract as before. Repeat a few more times until all that is left are some fibers and nut meal. Discard the residue.
Combine all the liquids that have been collected, including the water the marijuana was brewed in. Add to this the garam masala, dried ginger and rosewater. Add the sugar and remaining milk.
Chill, serve, and enjoy.
